Goodbye Peeta
by Catsally
Summary: We know Katniss' side of her goodbyes towards her family and friends. But what about Peeta's? This is what I think happened after being reaped.


I was waiting in the lusciously furnished room the peacekeepers brought me into, waiting for my family. For them to come and tell me their final farewell. It might be the last time I ever see them. I was mentally preparing myself for my family's goodbye, but nothing I could have came up with in my head prepared me for what I had to see. As the peacekeeper guarding my door made an appearance, popping in his head to inform me my family was here, followed by my family walking in, I immediately noticed certain things.

One of those things was the fact that my father, always a very calm person, looked angered.

"We did everything in our power to keep you safe! The reaping MUST be rigged! Your name was entered FIVE TIMES, out of THOUSANDS of names in that ball!" He shouted, holding onto my shoulder, and shaking me rigorously. Flaunting a small paper bag in the air.

"Dad, it is what it is. We can't change it anymore. Let's just accept the fact that I will be a tribute. But promise me dad, whatever happens, you will keep moving. Please." He simply nodded, but before he turned around, I could see a silver tear rolling down his face.

My brothers were next. They had been quietly giving me saddened looks from the back of the room none daring to speak. This was a bigger surprise than I had thought, since they were both very energetic and usually wouldn't shut their trap. They both quietly came up to me, and embraced me in a hug. Not like those hugs you would see from people that are reuniting, but the kind of hug that is radiating with heartbreak, and love. And with that, they too turned around, each giving off their silent goodbyes, sealed with a tear in my cheek.

But the biggest shock out of all of them was my mother, whom was never a very emotional person, but anyone could clearly tell she had been crying. Her eyes were bloodshot red, and her nose was running with snot. But she managed to compose herself enough to give me a look, and embrace me in her arms. For a moment there, I felt like a child, longing for my mother's soothing touch, to calm me after a bad dream, and tell me everything will be alright. But much too soon, she let go, fixing the bottom of my shirt, going on about how she didn't want me to look like 'seam trash.'

And before she too turned around, she gave me a look of deepest sadness, but tried to manage a tone of voice to which she could've thought sounded cheerful, "Maybe district twelve will finally have a winner" And my spirits lifted before she continued, "She's a survivor, that one"

My face immediately falls. Of course she didn't mean me. Anyways, I could never make it out of the arena, if Katniss was to come home, alive, back to her little sister Prim, or her mother, or … Gale.

I simply nodded, not trusting my voice. And much too soon, with a look of deepest sadness and regret, my family was gone. And that was the last time I would ever get to see them. And the last memory I had of my father was not his usual calm state. The last moment I would have with my brothers to stay in my mind was heartbreaking, and unusual to us. And the last thing my mother said to me was that she already declared me dead.

As I pondered these thoughts, I got an unexpected guest. None other than Gale Hawthorne himself.

We stared at each other, my face full of confusion, since me and him had never talked before. His face full of rage, but uselessly hidden behind a calm mask. He got right to the topic, and told me in a murderously low tone,

"If you kill her, and you make it back, _**I **_kill you." And with one final threading look, he was gone.

I was speechless, but I should've guessed something of some sort was going to happen. I mean, you could clearly see that they were together, and she needed to come back to HIM.

Before I could swallow anything of the last two minutes, a peacekeeper came in, informing me that he will be escorting me towards the train. And my last thought as I walked out the door was,

'_This is it Peeta, here is where it all starts. Keep her alive. That is all that matters now'_

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><p><strong>AN: I wrote this while waiting for the FireSide chat. I actually almost cried while writing this, i think its actually good :') **

**Hope you all liked it. **


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